Fort Valley, Georgia-The historic Edward Waters men's volleyball season was made even more special on Thursday evening as the Tigers earned a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Fort Valley State in an SIAC matchup at the HRC Arena. With the victory, the Tigers claimed their second consecutive SIAC Men's Volleyball Regular Season Championship and the #1 seed in next week's SIAC Men's Volleyball Tournament in Fort Valley.

Edward Waters (13-4, 9-0 SIAC) had to hold off a stern challenge from the homestanding Wildcats (7-18, 4-5 SIAC) to claim victory. The two squads split the first two sets of the match with EWU taking Set #1 and FVSU earning the Set #2 victory. Things turned in the third set in favor of Fort Valley State as they claimed a 25-23 victory to take a 2-1 lead in the match. The Purple & Orange were not to be denied as they showed their dominance in Set #4, taking it 25-15 to send the match to a fifth and match deciding set. The Tigers started the final set by going on a 6-0 run and ultimately darting out to an 8-4 lead. Fort Valley State could only come to within three points of the lead in the final set and the Tigers were able to close things out with a 15-8 victory, sending the team to a frenzied celebration as they clinched the outright regular season title.

The Tigers were buoyed by a strong offensive attack, posting a .216 hitting percentage on 65 kills, while holding Fort Valley State to a .164 hitting percentage on 50 kills. EWU also got it done from the service line, posting eight service aces in the match. Bryan Pepen led all players and posted a double-double with 19 kills and 12 digs. Kaelen Ingram also had a fantastic all around contest for EWU with 18 kills, four service aces, four blocks, and 12 digs. Joelvi Jimenez finished with 10 kills and six blocks. Jhoan Capellan dished out a season high 53 kills, while Richard Hendricks finished with 16 digs for the Tigers.

Edward Waters will conclude the 2023 regular season at home on Friday, April 14th at 4:00pm in an SIAC matchup against Morehouse College. It will be Senior Day as well for the Tigers as EWU will honor Victor Jerez, who will be playing in his final home match of his career.

Follow The Tigers
For complete coverage of Edward Waters University Athletics, follow the Tigers on social media @EWU_Athletics (Twitter), /EWUTigers (Facebook) and @EWU_Athletics (Instagram) or visit the official home of Edward Waters Athletics at EWUTigerPride.com